This invention relates generally to medical devices and more specifically to dispensing of medications for home or institution care where the patient must take multiple medicines at predetermined intervals. Some type of medical therapy requires patients to take many different types of medications, often in the form of pills or capsules at regular intervals. Failure to take a medication when prescribed or double dosing because a patient has forgotten that they have already taken their medication is a common problem. The problem is compounded when multiple medications with different prescribed dose frequencies are being used at one time.
Research into the issues of prescription medication non-compliance indicated the significant consequences that result. The National Pharmaceutical Council estimates that non-compliance costs more than 100 billion dollars a year in the USA alone in increased hospital and nursing home admissions, lost productivity and premature deaths. Ninety percent of elderly patients made some medication errors. Older adults average 2.3 serious medication errors per patient per month (Green et al., 1995). Non-compliance is directly responsible for the admission of 380,000 patients to nursing homes each year (23% of all nursing home admissions). In 60% of all nursing home admissions non-compliance is a greater factor than the person's actual medical condition (Col, Fanale & Kronholm, 1990, Merchenbaum & Turk 1997).
The use of medicines and pills has often proven an inconvenience, particularly when a patient is being administered more than one type of pill. Common is the scene of a crowded and overflowing medicine chest where shelf upon shelf is overlaiden with required drugs. Such a sight of disorderliness only increases the anxiety of the patient.
Often times laying the required medications out on a table or countertop does little to alleviate the aggravating condition. This situation is particularly distressing for the elderly patient who struggles to maintain their independence and would like to find some way to organize their entourage of pill vials. One way of accomplishing this is to organize his pills in a safe and orderly fashion. Safe so that no needed medication is overlooked. Orderly so that the pills may be organized, but not hidden or misplaced.
Accordingly, there has been a need for a medicine apparatus designed to store, indicate, dispense, and communicate for use in health care industry to assist those required to take medications at regular intervals. Such a medicine apparatus should be of durable construction and easy to assemble and operate. Additionally there exists a need for medicine dispensing which minimizes the change of an accidental overdose or under dose of medications. The invention that I present fulfill these needs and provides other related advantages.